British telecommunications giant Vodafone Group Plc is expected to file a draft prospectus with capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India for a planned listing of its Indian unit in August, Reuters reported.

The listing is likely in the fourth quarter. Through the IPO, the company is expected to raise as much as $2.5 billion, the report said.

The British telecoms group, India's largest mobile operator after Bharti Airtel, has started work on the prospectus that would include the Indian division's financial results for the first half of the calendar year.

Vodafone hired Bank of America Corp, India's Kotak Investment Banking, UBS AG in April as global coordinators for the IPO. It has also hired Deutsche Bank AG, HSBC Holdings Plc and ICICI Securities, part of India's ICICI Bank to help with the offering.

ONGC in talks to sell 25% in OPaL to strategic investors

ONGC Petro-additions Ltd (OPaL), which is jointly owned by ONGC, GAIL (India) Ltd and Gujarat State Petroleum Corp. Ltd, is holding discussions with local and overseas petrochemical companies to sell as much as 25% in the company, the Mintreported.

ONGC will also sell shares in OPaL to public in a few years from now, the report said.

Currently, ONGC and GAIL hold 44% each in OPaL, and GSPC holds the rest. Following the stake sale and the listing, ONGC will own 26%, GAIL 15.5%, GSPC 0.5%, other public sector companies 8%, a strategic investor 25% and public shareholders 25%.

The company has in the past held talks with several foreign firms for a stake sale but talks were stuck due to several delays in the project. The project was to be commissioned in 2011.

The PE firm is in talks to acquire the stake from existing investor Matrix Partners, which is selling its almost 20% stake, and also from promoters, who are looking to dilute about 10-15% to raise fresh capital for expansion plans.

Apart from TA Associates, four-five other private equity investors are also in the race to acquire the stake in TCNS Clothing, which is seeking a valuation of Rs 3,000 crore.

Investment bank Avendus Capital has been appointed to scout for potential investors. Matrix has invested about Rs 100 crore in TCNS since 2011.

Govt to set up monetary policy committee by September

The central government is in the process to set up a monetary policy committee and hopes to have it in place within the next few months, economic affairs secretary Shaktikanta Das toldThe Hindu Business Line.

The passage of the Finance Act in Parliament had cleared the way for setting up the committee. However, there were doubts on whether it would now be delayed until a new RBI governor is appointed.

RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had announced his decision to return to academia in September, when his current three-year term comes to an end.

“Under the amended Reserve Bank of India Act, the Rules will be notified shortly… it could happen by next week,” he said.

The finance ministry will then begin the process of nominating three members to the committee.

Equis Funds to invest $1 bn in India's renewable energy sector

Asia-focused investment firm Equis Funds Group is planning to invest up to $1 billion into India's renewable energy sector in the next two years, in order to double its portfolio to nearly two gigawatts of wind, solar and hydro energy installations, Bloombergreported citing CEO David Russell.

Equis has financed 737 megawatts of Indian renewables, with 300 megawatts under development. It has approved equity commitments of $630 million to India in the last four years. It also commissioned a 108-megawatt wind project in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh at an investment of $131 million this month.

The asset developer, a $2.7 billion fund, has 3.6 gigawatts of combined renewable energy capacity in India, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand, the report said.